Hitler postpones the German invasion until September 17th. Fighter-bomber attacks during the afternoon on London.
Night: Reduced activity but main attacks against London.
Weather: Showers and local thunder. Cloud in the Straits, Channel and Thames Estuary.
Enemy Action by Day
Showers and local thunder moved across southern England on 14 September, with cloud lingering over the Straits, the Channel, and the Thames Estuary. In Berlin, Hitler once more postponed Unternehmen Seelöwe, deferring any invasion decision until the following week. Across the Channel, the Luftwaffe sustained pressure—probing by reconnaissance in the morning and mounting two major afternoon attacks that penetrated London’s Inner Artillery Zone. Fighter Command countered with a broad response from No. 11 Group, reinforced by No. 12 Group, while No. 10 Group conducted coastal patrols to the west. By nightfall, bombing returned to London, though on a smaller scale than the heavy raids earlier in the week.
Morning Reconnaissance and Coastal Probing
The day began with scattered enemy reconnaissance. Single aircraft were plotted from Duncansby Head to the Firth of Forth around 13:00 hours, with repeated runs along the East Coast between the Wash and Cromer. In the south, reconnaissance and weather flights crossed the Thames Estuary and the Straits, extending westward to Beachy Head. At about 10:00 hours, a He 111 crossed north-east Kent toward south London and was subsequently shot down, while a separate intruder was believed to have been intercepted off Selsey Bill. Farther west, at 09:00 hours, one enemy aircraft traced a long inland route from Portsmouth toward London, Detling, and Rochester before exiting over North Foreland. Around the same time, the Luftwaffe also attempted to jam British radar, but the chain continued to plot incoming activity. Local daylight bombing by single raiders caused severe civilian losses on the Sussex coast: Eastbourne was struck twice (three killed), while in Brighton twenty-one high-explosive bombs with incendiaries fell in the Old Borough, demolishing a cinema and killing thirty-five while injuring many more. In south London, small-scale attacks on residential districts at Croydon and Mitcham caused over fifty deaths.
15:20–15:45: First Main Attack on London
Between 15:20 and 15:45 hours, German formations crossed the coast between Deal and Dungeness in two streams. The first, comprising roughly 150 aircraft, advanced toward London via the Estuary; the second, forming soon after, drove in from the south-east. Fighter Command scrambled twenty-two squadrons from No. 11 Group, with an additional five from No. 12 Group committed to the battle. Spitfires of Nos. 41, 66, and 222 Squadrons and Hurricanes of Nos. No. 1 (RCAF), 73, and 504 Squadrons were vectored to the Estuary, while Spitfires of Nos. 72 and 92 Squadrons and Hurricanes of Nos. 229 and 253 Squadrons were directed toward the Kent coast near Deal. Farther west, Gladiators of No. 247 Squadron from Roborough intercepted off the Sussex coast.
The attacking force consisted of Do 17s, He 111s, and Ju 88s, escorted by Bf 109s of JG 26, JG 51, JG 54, JG 77, and LG 2, with Bf 110s providing close support. As the streams fanned out over north Kent and the Estuary, heavy engagements broke out from Herne Bay to Shoeburyness, Gravesend, and Tilbury. Although the raids were smaller than those earlier in the week, they were more heavily escorted, indicating the Luftwaffe’s intent to draw numerous RAF fighters into prolonged combat. Claims and losses reflected the intensity. I./KGr.606 suffered heavily, with two Dorniers written off and two more damaged. Stab./KG 55 lost a He 111 into the sea off Sussex after interception by No. 72 Squadron; one crewman, Fw. Josef Geiger, drifted for three days in a dinghy before being recovered by the Seenotdienst. JG 26 claimed five victories but lost the Gruppe-Adjutant of I./JG 26, Oblt. Kurt Dähne, shot down by Sgt. A.S. Dredge of No. 253 Squadron, while a pilot of 9./JG 26 force-landed at St Inglevert, his aircraft written off. Fw. Heinz Ettler of 1./JG 77 was shot down over Detling and taken prisoner, while Uffz. Valentin Blazejewski of 6.(S)/LG 2, attacked by a Spitfire over Ashford on the return leg, bailed out and spent the remainder of the war as a POW.
RAF losses fell heaviest on No. 73 Squadron, which lost three Hurricanes and had four others damaged, with one pilot killed. Losses elsewhere included two Hurricanes from No. 253 Squadron and two Spitfires from No. 222 Squadron, both squadrons losing a pilot. Despite these setbacks, effective interceptions prevented most of the bombers from reaching central London in strength, though bombs fell in Camberwell, Lambeth, and Battersea, where a gasometer was struck and the Southern Railway bridge between Victoria and Clapham Junction was damaged. Battersea Power Station was also hit, though damage remained minor.
German fighter claims for the day included Major Werner Mölders (Stab./JG 51), who downed a Spitfire south-east of London for his thirty-seventh victory, and Major Adolf Galland (Stab./JG 26), who destroyed a Hurricane near London for his thirty-first. Hptm. Walter Oesau (Stab III./JG 51) added two Spitfires, bringing his total to twenty-six. Additional victories were credited to Uffz. Rudolf Meixner (3./JG 77, two Hurricanes) and Hptm. Dietrich Hrabak (Stab II./JG 54, one Hurricane south-east of London).
18:10–18:35: Second Main Attack
A second coordinated assault began at 18:10 hours, with seven formations of twelve to thirty aircraft crossing successively at Dover and Lympne until 18:35. Plots placed their altitudes between 17,000 and 20,000 feet. The targets were Kenley, Biggin Hill, Hornchurch, Northolt, and London—the latter approached from the south-west. Many No. 11 Group squadrons had scarcely rearmed and refuelled before being scrambled again, and interceptions developed across the southern counties and up toward the capital. Several German formations abandoned their objectives, forced to turn back as combats intensified along their routes.
As the last raid dispersed, Bf 109s of JG 26 swept low across Kent and were engaged over the Maidstone area by Hurricanes of No. 46 Squadron from Stapleford and Spitfires of Nos. 41 and 92 Squadrons from Hornchurch and Biggin Hill. Oblt. Joachim Müncheberg (7./JG 26) claimed his twentieth victory, while Hptm. Rolf Pingel (Gr.Kdr., Stab I./JG 26) added a Hurricane for his fifteenth. Both men received the Ritterkreuz on their return, although Pingel had not yet reached the customary total of twenty. Elsewhere in the sector, scattered bombing struck Southampton—where railway damage in the Woolston district was quickly repaired—and Warrington, where a daylight attack at 17:05 hours saw two HE bombs hit the recreation ground of the Thames Board Paper Mill during a gala, killing fourteen and seriously injuring twenty-one.
Day’s End and Local Raids
Between 19:00 and 20:00 hours, five small raids, flying singly or in pairs, crossed East Kent, the Estuary, and south Essex. Throughout the afternoon and early evening, RAF interceptions proved effective, with many German formations disrupted before they could reach the city. London damage, though spread across several boroughs, remained limited in scale: in Lambeth, Camberwell New Road was flooded by a burst water main and the LCC main sewer was damaged, while at 18:20 a later attack inflicted major damage on a flour mill in Battersea.
Enemy Action by Night
Night activity was reduced compared with earlier in the week, despite favourable weather. From 20:00 to 22:00 hours, small raids from Dieppe and Le Havre flew erratic tracks over Sussex and Kent, penetrating to London and north of the Estuary. A six-plus raid approached from the North Sea to Cromer, split, and ran on toward the North Midlands. Between 22:00 and 01:00, single aircraft operated in the Estuary, some edging into London and others into Essex; three raids crossed between the Wash and the Humber and remained active over Lincolnshire. Mine-laying was suspected off Aberdeen, the Firth of Forth, Holy Island, Hartlepool, the Humber, Milford Haven, and in the Bristol Channel. Bombs were dropped in many southern districts, but the scale was small and major damage rare. Four HE bombs fell on the sports field near the Officers’ Mess at RAF Cottesmore at 23:50 on the 13th, with no damage to RAF property. By 04:00 hours, London was clear.
Losses and Assessment
For the day, German losses amounted to 19 airmen and 13 aircraft, while British losses totalled 4 airmen and 13 aircraft. Within Fighter Command, No. 73 Squadron suffered the heaviest single-unit losses; other casualties included two Hurricanes from No. 253 Squadron and two Spitfires from No. 222 Squadron. On the German side, losses included a Heinkel He 111 from Stab./KG 55 and two Dornier Do 17s from I./KGr.606. JG 26 suffered the death of Oblt. Kurt Dähne and the loss of a 9./JG 26 aircraft in a force-landing write-off. Further losses occurred in 1./JG 77, where Fw. Heinz Ettler was captured, and in 6.(S)/LG 2, where Uffz. Valentin Blazejewski was also taken prisoner.
Civilian tolls were heaviest in Brighton, where a cinema was destroyed with thirty-five killed; in Warrington, where a daylight strike on the paper-mill gala left fourteen dead and twenty-one seriously injured; and in London, where scattered incidents damaged utilities and rail lines, though both remained operational or were quickly repaired.
The day closed with the invasion once again postponed and Fighter Command still intact. The Luftwaffe’s afternoon thrusts pressed against London’s defences but were blunted by repeated interceptions over Kent and the Estuary. Nightfall brought only reduced raids. In the balance between losses and results, neither side secured a decisive advantage, and the struggle shifted to the uncertainties of the next day’s weather and orders.
German Losses:
Airmen: 19 | Aircraft: 13
British Losses:
Airmen: 4 | Aircraft: 13
Hurricane P2542, No. 73 Squadron
Sgt J.J. Brimble killed. Shot down by enemy aircraft and crashed at Parkhurst Farm Chart Sutton.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/BrimbleJJ.htm
Spitfire X4275, No. 222 Squadron
Sgt S. Baxter killed. Badly damaged by gunfire from Bf 109s and crashed attempting to land.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Baxter.htm
Spitfire R6625, No. 19 Squadron
Sgt F. Marek killed. Crashed during routine patrol. Possibly oxygen failure. No other details.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Marek.htm
Hurricane P5184, No. 253 Squadron
Sgt W.B. Higgins killed. Shot down in flames after combat with Bf 109. Pilot did not bale out.
http://www.bbm.org.uk/airmen/Higgins.htm
Photo Description
- A Hawker Hurricane Mk.I of No. 73 Squadron is refuelled and rearmed.
- Armourers rearming a Hawker Hurricane Mk.I of No. 73 Squadron.
- Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring addressing a group of German pilots before their sortie over England, September 1940. © IWM (MH 13382)